Switching centers serve to connect subscribers, i.e., their terminals, with a telephone network. A plurality of switching centers is present in a telephone network. The switching centers are linked with one another.
The administration of operating functions in the control software of the switching centers takes place by administration commands (e.g., by way of proprietary Man-Machine Language commands, MML, or standardized Q3 commands), which are input at a console and are sent to the switching center from there. Such administrative tasks can be, for example, logical setup, modification, or deletion of a subscriber's terminal.
In the case of some operating functions, other switching centers also have to be coordinated if a change occurs in one switching center, i.e., the different administration commands to the affected switching centers must be precisely coordinated with one another. An example of this is the adaptation of routing tables in several switching centers to a change in one switching center. If the administration commands or their parameters deviate from this logical coordination in this connection, as the result of incorrect input, for example, then network-wide functionality of the corresponding operating function is no longer possible in the telephone network.
In the state of the art, coordination of network-wide administration is carried out manually. In this connection, if there is a change in an operating function, all of the necessary administration commands are manually compiled by one operator (i.e., by one authorized person). Local operators then send the different administration commands, which have been coordinated with one another, to the appropriate switching center by way of a console (referred to as an administration device hereinafter).
The disadvantage of this solution is that it requires significant administration effort because of the manual compilation of many administration commands for an administrative task or operating function.
In addition, when there is a large number of administration commands, errors can very easily occur during compilation or entry of the commands. Then, the feedback from all the administration commands must be collected and manually assessed for an analysis of the errors and the possible effects on coordinated administration.